Chapter 8: After The Boys Of Summer Have Gone

 

Summer was coming to Appaloosa Plains, but life continued much as normal.  Each of the Cantrell family had their own hobbies which they gave leisure time over to, and the long, sunny weekend days in their quiet little town were the perfect time to explore their interests.

Jennifer was an easy-going girl, soon to be an easy-going teenager, who was happy to spend time at home playing with her toys, but equally eager to explore the parks and valleys of Appaloosa Plains on her bike.  Like her daddy, she also loved the colour blue.  She was also helpful around the house, and spent lots of time with her little sister, Chloe, who she completely doted upon.

Miles liked to exercise.  He was obsessed with keeping fit, and was especially proud of his body.  He was pretty happy to realise that Hailey still did a double take sometimes when he walked past her shirtless.

When he wasn't exercising, he also loved to sleep, though not as much as Yumi loved to wake him up.

Yumi?  Well, Yumi was into hunting.  Sometimes she would bring back strange rocks and metals.  She hadn't found anything particularly impressive yet, but Hailey kept training her, adamant that one day she would strike gold.

Hailey's main priority was her garden.  It genuinely made her happy to spend long days planting, weeding and harvesting.  It kept her fit and alert, with the sun on her back and the breeze rustling the apple trees that supplied a large chunk of the family's income - and dietary source!

 Now that Anastacia didn't see Locke anymore, she was like a different girl altogether.  Anything that involved being outdoors, preferably in nothing but her bikini, was enough to send her happiness sky-rocketing.  Hailey did object to her daughter dancing around in her carefully cultivated produce, but she had to admit, she loved seeing her daughter smiling and laughing, even if it was at the expense of her carrot plant.

Chloe, who had recently grown into a toddler, was as bright as a button, and particularly loved spending time with her mummy. Hailey had high hopes for her youngest daughter.

After plenty of practice with her other two children, things like teaching Chloe how to walk and talk were much, much easier this time around, and Hailey spent every spare second she could ensuring Chloe's toddler years were perfect.

***

Another thing that Jennifer liked?  Spending time with her friend Joey.

Joey was a bit older than Jennifer but she never made her feel stupid or dumb or young.  She was Jennifer's best friend in the whole world, and Jennifer felt like she could tell her anything.  Not that Jennifer had much secret stuff to tell her; generally, she figured her life was pretty good, but it was nice to know the option was there.

Joey also liked listening to Jennifer's impressions of the older girls at school, the girls in Joey's year.  Joey didn't really talk about it much, but Jennifer knew that some of those girls were mean to Joey.  Joey never said why, just said it wasn't important, but Jennifer knew it bothered her.  Sometimes she found Joey in the school toilets wiping away tears, but she always smiled when she saw Jennifer.

Jennifer couldn't wait to age up to a teenager.  She didn't have long left, just a couple of days, and she couldn't wait to hang out with Joey properly.

***

One afternoon, Anastacia was walking to the grocery store when she heard a voice calling her.  She glanced over her shoulder and groaned.  Great.

She broke into a jog as Locke chased after her, and whilst she knew she could easily outrun him, she figured she couldn't keep avoiding him forever.  He kept trying to drag her into empty classrooms at school, "to explain," but usually gave up when she 'accidentally' stamped on his foot.  She figured she may as well just give in now and let him try to work his smarmy excuses before she told him exactly to where to stick it.

"Look," he sighed, "I'm sorry about that night.  You know, the prom.  I just... Joyce had been on at me all evening before you arrived, and -"

"All evening?!  The prom started at 7, and I got there at ten past!" Anastacia told him.  "Could you not resist her advances for ten minutes?!"

"You don't understand.  It's just so difficult being me sometimes.  I tell the girls no, and they still keep trying it on with me.  I know that you saw me and Joyce kissing when you walked in, but honestly?  She was kissing me.  I just... didn't stop her."

Anastacia rolled her eyes.  She was really bored now.  Why had she never realised that Locke's face was all pimply this close up?  She'd been totally blind!

"The thing is, girls just want me for my buff body, and I'm like... whoa, wait a second!  I'm a one-girl kind of fella, ladies.  And that girl, I tell them, is Ana Cantrell."

"Seriously, I know you're into all that fitness stuff, and I'm getting pretty good on the treadmill.  I can run for, like, 20 minutes now.  Look at that, I'm making commitments for you, baby.  You're definitely the one for me."

Ana sighed.  "Do you have the time?"

"Yeah, sure, it's 3 o..." But when Locke looked up from his watch, Anastacia was already halfway across the other side of the park, heading back towards home.  She couldn't even be bothered to give her a peace of his mind.  He just wasn't worth the effort.

***

Jennifer aged up one day as she and Anastacia were watching TV together.

As a teenager, it was no surprise she developed the Family-orientated trait, to add to her Easily Impressed, Charismatic and Workaholic traits - she was a sociable girl who spent equal amounts of time with each of her family, and they all loved her for it.

As a teenager, she had the slightly broader features of her mother, with the thick hair that Hailey prided herself on.  She was, Hailey secretly thought, softer looking than her sister, maybe not as obviously pretty, but her sweet nature more than made up for that.

As the two teenagers in the family, it was no surprise that Anastacia and Jennifer spent a lot of time together.  Anastacia, ever since the prom, and shunning Locke, had found her social status dipping in school, and she was grateful to have Jennifer around because of that, especially as she genuinely got on well with her little sister.

Still, that didn't mean their outlook on school, and life generally, wasn't different.  Jennifer enjoyed going to school (her Workaholic trait shining through) whilst Anastacia could barely contain a grimace when she set out for the school bus each morning.

Despite being younger, Jennifer often had to help Anastacia get through her homework.  It wasn't that Anastacia was dumb, she was just very easily distracted.  If she wasn't talking about going to the neighbourhood pool...

... she was talking about how far she was able to run on the treadmill.  Jennifer couldn't think of anything more boring than exercise, but she tried to spare Anastacia the full extent of her eye-rolling as she knew it was important to her older sister.

Still, one sporting activity she didn't mind too much was playing throw ball with her sister in the front garden as the sun set over Appaloosa Plains.  It was the most active she was willing to get, and she had to admit, it was actually kind of fun.

But Jennifer was at her happiest when she got to spend time with Chloe.  It was clear to see that the two of them shared a special bond that even Hailey felt slightly envious of.  Chloe's whole face lit up when Jennifer came home from school, and Jennifer always found time for cuddles and kisses with her cute little sister.

***

On the first official day of Summer, while Miles played with his new favourite toy...

... Anastacia and Jennifer decided to go down to the newly rebuilt festival grounds on the other side of Appaloosa Plains.  They'd assumed that the festival would start today, but there was a sign on the barn telling them that it would actually be tomorrow.

 

Still, they were here now, so they decided to make the most of the sunny day by tucking into some burgers that were being sold from the outdoors BBQ.

As Anastacia was eating, she noticed her sister was distracted by something.  She glanced over and was slightly astonished by what she saw.

Jennifer was blatantly checking out Imogen Pelly, the local neighbourhood snob.  Anastacia almost choked on her burger, but when she finished swallowing she looked across at her little sister.  "Um, Jenny, something you want to tell me?"

Jennifer blushed.  "No!"

"I don't mind, you know, if you're into girls.  I'm less thrilled that Imogen Pelly is your type, that's all."

"She isn't really," Jennifer confessed.  "I mean, she looks pretty and everything, but... I don't know, I thought now I was a teenager things might be different with Joey, but she's refusing to come into school and won't answer her phone or anything, so things haven't been easy."

"Do mum and dad know?"

"That I prefer girls?  They're fine with it.  It's not a big deal for them."

"It isn't a big deal for any of us.  So long as you're happy, that's all that matters."

Anastacia finished her burger in silence.  She hoped things would be okay for Jennifer at school.  She had never told her little sister that the reason Joey hated going to school was because of the taunts she received about her sexuality.  It was common knowledge in their year.  Anastacia could only hope that Jennifer's impossible-to-dislike demeanour would see her through the trials and tribulations of high school.

"Anyway, it could be worse," Jennifer pointed out.  "I could be into freaky clown fairy men. Like him."

Anastacia looked over to see a man with small fairy wings and a painted clown face tripping over his own feet.  She laughed.  "Well, yeah, that would obviously be the worst possible scenario."

Once they'd finished their snack, they decided to head back home.  But as they were walking past the chess tables near the eating area, Anastacia looked across to see Joyce Bedlington playing by herself.  She frowned, quickly looking away, but Joyce, her former best friend, had already seen her.

"Anastacia, over here!"

"I'll catch up with you later," Anastacia told Jenny, who squeezed her hand sympathetically before leaving for home.

Joyce had been her best friend, before Anastacia had walked into the prom reception to see her all over Locke.  Surprisingly enough, after that, Anastacia hadn't felt quite as well disposed towards the older girl.  She sat down on the other side of the chess table to see that Joyce had recently transitioned into a young adult.

"Want to play?" Joyce asked.  Anastacia shrugged.  She was okay at chess as her dad had taught her the basics when she was a child. She knew enough not to embarrass herself, anyway.

"You look nice," Anastacia lied.  "That colour really suits you."

Joyce smiled.  "I'm glad you think so.  Locke told me he likes green on me."

"How is Locke?" Anastacia asked mildly.  She didn't actually care, but she figured she should be polite.

"He's fine.  He's having his birthday tomorrow.  You can come if you like."

"Oh, sorry, I'm busy."

The thing was, Anastacia realised, she didn't even dislike Joyce.  She felt a little sorry for her, blinded as she was by Locke's dubious charms, but she used to enjoy hanging out with her before things had turned so weird between them.  Maybe Jennifer had the right idea, preferring girls to boys.  Boys just seemed so complicated sometimes.

They played for about an hour, catching up on each other's lives, and as Anastacia walked away, she felt a lot better about things.  The fact that she could sit opposite Locke's girlfriend and not feel any sort of jealousy or anger was significant, she realised.  She was only about halfway through her teenage years and she intended to enjoy the rest of them, with or without a boy.

***

It rained all that night and into the morning, but at around 10am the sun came out, and the Summer festival officially came to town.  Hailey wanted to get her produce harvested so told her family she would meet them at the festival grounds later.  Miles, Anastacia and Jennifer all eagerly set out for the park, with Miles pushing an excited Chloe in her stroller.

When they reached the festival grounds, he set his daughter down on the grass next to a friendly little boy who Chloe instantly hit it off with.

Anastacia decided that she was too pale by far, so had a go in the spray tan booth.   She felt kind of nervous as she got in...

 ... but by the time she stepped out, she thought she looked pretty damn hot, even if she did say so herself.

Jennifer, meanwhile, didn't see the point of paying for a fake tan when she was sure she would catch the sun naturally today, but she couldn't resist getting a simple face paint to reflect the fact that the season was finally here.

Later, Jennifer managed to persuade body-conscious Anastacia that a hotdog eating contest would be really, really fun to enter.  Anastacia wasn't quite sure, but Jennifer's charismatic pleading eventually forced her to give in, and they got stuck into the mountainous plate of hotdogs...

And actually, Anastacia really began to enjoy herself, even leading the score at one point.  But then out of the corner of her eye she saw a pale and handsome teenager looking around the festival grounds, as if lost, and she immediately pulled away from the contest.  Well, she didn't want to look greedy in front of a potential new romance prospect, did she?

But the boy, who she didn't recognise, didn't look her way, and she watched, slightly forlornly, as he headed towards the skating arena.

"Jenny," she whispered, grabbing her sister's arm and pulling her away from the table.

"Hey, I was winning!"

"We've got to go skating, come on!"

Jennifer looked across at the arena and groaned.  "You have terrible taste in guys, Ana.  He looks like a vampire!  Look how pale his skin is!"

"Don't be silly, vampires have glowing eyes.  And better balance than that.  Come on, you have to admit he's hot?"

"He is not hot," Jennifer said adamantly, "but okay, we'll go and try and captivate him with your mad skating skills."

Jennifer quickly regretted agreeing to try roller skating.  She found that she had absolutely no balance whatsoever, and when she found herself heading towards an older gentlemen, who looked equally unsteady on his own feet, she realised what was about to happen.

"Watch ou-"

She didn't get a chance to finish, and ended up landing painfully on her bum.  The man fell over soon after, sprawling out next to her, and Jennifer groaned.

"Great, that's going to hurt for a week!  Thanks very much, Ana."

She unsteadily tried to get back onto her feet, and was luckily rescued by her father who had decided for himself that skating looked quite fun.  He gently pulled his daughter up and began to spin her around as she beamed happily.

"See, it's not so difficult.  You just need to take it slow and steady.  Come on, let's try going round the rink together."

Anastacia, meanwhile, had no problems adjusting to travelling by roller skates, but she figured there might be something worth trying, inspired by Jennifer's clumsy technique.  Pretending to wobble unsteadily, she caught the mysterious new boy on a corner and deliberately sent herself flying into him.  Predictably enough, they both ended up on the floor.

Once they were up, grabbing onto each other's hands for support he looked at her with piercing, intelligent eyes.

 

"Hi," she said.  "Are you new in town?  I don't think I've seen you around before."

 

He nodded.  He was rather a serious looking boy, but she found herself entranced by his pale skin and jet black hair.  "Yes, me and my family arrived yesterday.  I'm starting at school tomorrow."

 

"Nice to meet you.  My name is Anastacia but everyone calls me Ana."

 

"My name is Lawrence but everyone calls me... well, Lawrence."

 

 

Anastacia laughed.  She realised they hadn't let go of each other's hands yet.  "Can I just check... you're not a vampire, are you?"

It was Lawrence's turn to laugh.  "No, but you're not the first person to ask me that.  I just don't tan very easily, that's all."

 Anastacia tried not to stare too blatantly into his eyes.  He was so cute and best of all he was human!  She let him spin her around, watching as his confidence with her gradually grew. 

***

Hailey arrived shortly afterwards and watched her family playing happily.  She knew that she had a lot to be happy and thankful for, but as she watched Chloe playing happily on the grass...

 ... she felt like something was missing.  Chloe would age up tonight, as would Hailey herself, and Hailey still didn't feel quite fulfilled.  She loved her family but that was the problem.  Hailey was happiest being a mum, feeling like she had a purpose beyond gardening and being Miles' wife.  As much as she loved Miles, he still did a very demanding job, and was years and years off retiring from it.

Hailey licked at her snow cone and sighed.  She was being stupid.  She had three beautiful children, and didn't need anymore.  It was just.. it was difficult trying to make herself believe that.

***

They spent a happy afternoon at the festival, but eventually it began to grow dark.  Jennifer picked up Chloe and together headed home with Hailey.

Anastacia and Miles stayed just a little while longer.  Anastacia was now confident enough to do impressive spins on the skating rink, but unfortunately Lawrence had gone home, so she felt her efforts were sort of wasted.  Still, it was fun. and she was hopeful she'd get the opportunity to hang out with him again!

Miles finished off the nachos he'd bought from the food booth...

...before the two of them headed home to celebrate the birthdays of first Chloe and then Hailey.

It had been a long day, and Miles in particular felt content as he snuggled next to Hailey in bed that night.  He didn't realise, though, that sleep was a long time coming for his wife.



Notes: So this is the point where I started playing Seasons, as you can see!  Lots of fun. :)  Lawrence is a pre-made Maxis sim in the family screen that you can add to Neighbourhoods - from the Lum family. I put a bunch of those families into Appaloosa Plains to ensure there would be some babies being born in other families, but Anastacia took a shine to Lawrence and I kind of like him so I let it happen. :)  As for Jennifer, she definitely seemed more interested in girls than boys from the start of her teenage years, and it really looks to me like she's shyly checking out Imogen in that one picture, so couple that with her friendship with Joey and I figured she'd be happier as a lesbian (which takes her out of the equation to be heir, if you're wondering.)

Chapter 7: I Can Feel The Sweet Illusion

 

Anastacia seemed to spend a lot of time day dreaming these days.  The object of her affections was obvious, but pretty inexplicable nonetheless.  Hailey in particular took genuine exception to Locke's hair, dress sense, and general lack of respect.  But she also knew what it was like to be a teenage girl, and she decided that it would be best to keep quiet.  If she forbade Anastacia from seeing her crush, it would only encourage her to become secretive about meeting up with him.  Still, she didn't like it.

"She's in there a lot, isn't she?" Miles pointed out one day.  Anastacia had locked herself into the bathroom for the fifth time that day, applying make-up and checking her hair.  Miles didn't really understand it.  Unlike Hailey, he didn't know the first thing about teenage girls.  Anastacia, on the surface, was pretty feisty.  She loved running, loved spending time outdoors, and had cut her hair boyishly short.  Yet she spent endless time primping and prepping herself, as if she was convinced she wasn't pretty enough.  It was bizarre behaviour, but in a house filled with four other females, Miles had learnt the fine art of keeping his mouth shut.

One thing he was able to bond with Anastacia over, still, was her running. 

She worked out on the treadmill most days after school, and Miles was always eager to give her pointers (and cheer enthusiastically when she hit personal best times) once he had come home from work.

She no longer needed or wanted his help with her homework, and Miles looked forward to these times as he still caught glimpses of the sweet little girl he had unimpressively coached through Algebra problems some years before.

Anastacia, for her part, knew that her parents and her little sister didn't approve of Locke.  That was part of the appeal.  He was a self-styled bad boy, and Anastacia figured that she was supposed to go for bad boys over nice ones.  That's what other girls her age did.  Cool girls, girls who hung out at bars with band members and wore cool clothes. 

One evening, Locke phoned her up.  "Hey, gorgeous, want to be incredibly lame and go and sing some karaoke?"

Anastacia bit her lip.  It was quite late, and she was sure that her parents would say no if they found out.  She lowered her voice so anyone listening outside the bedroom wouldn't hear.  She was sure Jenny would tell on her if she got the chance.  "I'd love to!  Meet you in 30?"

"Can't wait."

As she was tip-toeing out of her room, her mum yelled from the kitchen: "Ana, check that Chloe is okay.  Does she need a bottle?"

Anastacia rolled her eyes and headed into the small nursery next door.  Baby Chloe was wide awake but peaceful, staring up with wide eyes from her crib.

"You're alright, aren't you?" she asked, not really one for baby talk.  Chloe sniffled a little bit, and Anastacia leant over to plant a kiss on her soft cheek.

 

 

"Yeah, you're fine.  One day, Chloe, you'll get a super cool boyfriend too, and everything will be awesome for you as well."  Chloe continued to stare up at her big sister, confused. and Anastacia sighed.  "Never mind.  See you later, little one."

 

***

 

It was dark by the time she got to the karaoke bar.  Locke was leaning against the counter, smirking slightly.  "Normally I'm the one that leaves girls waiting."

Anastacia blushed.  "Sorry.  Mum was being lame."

"Your mum is hot, so I forgive her."

Anastacia punched his arm slightly.  Sometimes Locke made jokes that really weren't very funny.  Well, most of the time he made jokes that weren't very funny.  She wasn't really sure why he had the effect on her that he did.  The other girls at school swooned over him, and she did feel honoured when he paid attention to her, but sometimes she looked at him and she didn't think he was even that good-looking?  But that was clearly insane, because he was so cool, and was going to be in a rock band and play Bridgeport and all the other big cities, and she would be his glamorous muse who he wrote songs about and dedicated his album sleeve notes to.  She was sure this was how it would happen.

Well, maybe he wouldn't be the lead singer in the rock band, but he did play the guitar, so her plan was still a possibility.  Anastacia had to look around the room a few times, hoping that nobody from school could see them.  The faces he was making were a bit weird.  It was lucky that his hair was so cool, and covered some of his face.

She did like it, however, when he stared deep into her eyes.  Maybe this is what love feels like, she thought dreamily.

 

Once they finished singing, Locke insisted they did this thing called 'ironic dancing' which involved dancing as stupidly as they could to the weird couple who had taken their place on the karaoke machine.

 

"Locke, don't look now," Anastacia whispered, "But I think that guy wants to eat that lady!"

The man looked across, eyes glittering unnaturally in the shadows.  "Act normally, keep dancing," she continued to whisper.  "I think he might want to eat you now..."

"Why's he wearing a beekeeper's hat?!" Locke asked.  They tried not to giggle.

"Keep dancing," Anastacia advised him.  "He'll look away soon."

 

 

That's what she really liked about Locke.  When he loosened up a bit, he was fun, and did make her laugh.  When he was like this, she felt she could be more himself around him.  She tipped her head back, letting the music pulse through her, and when she looked up Locke was staring at her.

 

"You do realise you're the prettiest girl in our year?"

 

Anastacia shuffled her feet, unsure what to say to that.  She didn't think it was true, but she was flattered that Locke thought so.

 

"Thank you," she eventually managed.  "You're the coolest boy in our year."

 

"Exactly.  You want to go to the prom with me?"

 

Anastacia felt her heart beating quickly.  She'd assumed she'd be one of the many single teenagers going alone to the prom, that Locke would ask one of the other girls he hung around with that were always fawning over him.  She nodded quickly.  "I'd love to."

 

"Cool.  It should be a good night.  Wear something pretty, alright?"

 

He leant forward, pecked her quickly on the lips, and disappeared out of the door.  Anastacia felt breathless and giddy.  This was the best moment of her life!

 

***

 

Hailey reluctantly took Anastacia into town the week after to buy her a new dress for the prom, as well as getting her hair fixed up.  Anastacia was insistent that she had to look "perfect", and whilst Hailey wasn't thrilled that it was Locke she was going to the effort to impress, she knew how important prom night was.

 



 

Miles went to the slightly unnecessary expense of splashing out on a stretched limo for Anastacia, who felt embarrassed to be sitting in it all on her own, as Locke had told her he would meet her at the prom venue.

 

But she also felt excited, butterflies fluttering in her stomach.  She hoped that Locke liked the dress.  Her mum had muttered mutinously about the price, but it was by far the prettiest one in the shop, and Anastacia wanted to feel like a princess tonight, so that Locke wouldn't regret asking her.

She navigated the stone steps of City Hall in her heels.  They higher than she was used to - usually she just clomped around in high-top traners.  It was a beautiful evening, and maybe her and Locke would be able to go down to the beach once prom was finished, and watch the stars together.  She smiled in anticipation, goosebumps prickling her arm.

 

When she reached the big, grand doors, she pushed them open and entered.  What she saw inside, however, made her stomach drop immediately.

 

***

 

Later that night, Anastacia returned home with a tacky plastic crown and smudged mascara on her cheeks.  It hadn't been the best night of her life, by any means.  Instead, it had almost certainly been the worst.  She hoped her family wouldn't ask her about it.  She didn't want to start crying again.

 

Instead of going inside, she hung around in the garden for a while, hoping the light upstairs would go off, signifying that her parents had gone to bed.  Out of the corner of her eye she saw a shimmering light, and she turned around, gasping sharply at what she saw.  It was the second surprise of the night, but this time, it wasn't at all unwelcome.

 

She'd heard her father talk before about a mysterious night light that sometimes awoke him from his sleep, but they'd all laughed at him and told him he was getting senile as he grew older.  Now, with clarity, Anastacia realised what he'd meant by it.  The unicorn reared up in front of her, but she wasn't scared.  She knew this creature wouldn't hurt her.

"H-hello..." she stammered.  She gently reached out and touched the unicorn's nose.  It allowed her to run her hand up and down, feeling the heat and energy beneath her fingertips.  And as she stroked the soft fur, she realised that the hurt and pain and humiliation she had felt tonight was fading out of her, ebbing away until she wondered why she had been so upset by a stupid, insignificant, arrogant boy.

The unicorn looked down at her passively, and if it had been able to talk, Anastacia was certain she knew what it would have told her.  Don't worry.  Everything will be fine.

 

She smiled up at it.  "Thank you."  With a quick nod of its head and a snort, the unicorn backed away until its ethereal glow faded into the darkness. 

 

***

 

The next day, Anastacia didn't give a second glance to the crown as she headed to the bathroom.  She'd won Prom Queen because people had thought that she had come with Locke.  She didn't care anymore, and one day she'd get round to giving that loser a piece of her mind.

 

 

In the kitchen, Hailey and Jennifer were eating cookies that Jennifer had baked on her little toy oven.  "How many calories in one of these?" Hailey asked.  Jennifer looked at her and shrugged.  "I don't know, but they taste good, right, mummy?"

 

"Yes.  That's the problem."

 

"Want me to put on the washing?" Anastacia called over.

 





 

"Thank you, darling, that would be very helpful.  How did the prom go?"

 

"Not so great.  But I won Prom Queen, if you want to try on the crown, Jenny?"

 

"Crowns are for insecure people," Jennifer pointed out wisely.  Anatascia laughed.

 

"You're right.  You want to hang out today, squirt?"

 

"Yeah!"

 

Hailey smiled to herself.  She didn't think the family would be seeing much of Locke anymore, and she couldn't say that she particularly minded.

 

 

 

Notes: I guess this signifies the point where I started taking a lot more pictures, hence the more cohesive story in this chapter.  I hope that continues!  I've actually stopped playing now until I'm caught up with blog updates, as I think it's harder for me to work out stories when I'm playing so far ahead of what I'm doing on here.  So hopefully I'll be able to get the next few updates out quite quickly, although I've been so busy in real life that I'm not sure how possible that will be!  I enjoyed writing this chapter.  Anastacia is a bit of an oxymoron in my game; she's very tomboy-ish, really into athletics and outdoorsy activities, but she was all over Locke as a teenager despite the fact that he treated her pretty badly.  She also had the worst prom ever and got about 3 bad moodlets, even though she won Prom Queen.  But I loved that she came home to the unicorn in the garden.  It was a really special in-game moment.

 

 

 

Chapter 6: Look At The Stars, Look How They Shine For You

The next few years passed quickly as Hailey and Miles focused on their careers and their two children.  Miles had never been happier; even though they still struggled for space within the house, he wasn't sure he ever wanted to move; sometimes, when he was sleeping, he felt an ethereal presence washing over him like a rainbow. 

Even Yumi seemed to approve.

One evening, Miles snuggled up to Hailey in the garden as they watched the wide stretch of stars sprinkling their nightlight over Appaloosa Plains.

"Do you remember we did this at Hangman's Tree, on the night I asked you to move in with me?"  Miles asked.  "A lot has happened since then, hasn't it?"

Hailey let her head fall back, her eyes crinkling with laughter.  "Two beautiful children, a not so beautiful dog, promotions, gardening... lots and lots of gardening."

"Hey, don't knock the gardening.  Who could ever get sick of Autumn Salad?" Miles looked across at her, his voice dipping into seriousness.  You wouldn't change anything, would you?"

"Well," Hailey sighed.  "Funny you should ask that..."

She leant across and whispered into Miles' ear: "You think we can handle one more little rugrat?"

"You sure?"  Miles looked across at her, and Hailey looked back at the stars, briefly nodding, almost shyly.

She let her fingers brush across Miles' hand.  "I think I'm just a few weeks' gone, but I've got enough previous experience o base it on.  God, I hope it's a boy this time.  I'm not sure I can deal with three moody teenage girls in my lifetime!"

"Aw, you don't know if they're going to be moody.  They've been pretty content so far.  Especially Jennifer."

"Well, she's very easy to impress, isn't she?  That makes it a bit easier.  I do worry about Anastacia, though.  She seems, well, very into boys, doesn't she?"

"I can't think who she took after at that age," Miles pointed out drolly.

Hailey blushed.  "Well, we should keep an eye on it, nonetheless."

They fell into a comfortable silence, until Hailey admitted, "I'll be happy with another girl, of course.  I'll be happy with an alien at this point!  I'm just... I've missed it a little bit.  Now that our girls are both about to age up again, it will be lovely to have another baby around the house.  We'll be able to move Jenny into Ana's room, so we'll have enough space in the nursery, and we've actually got something resembling savings for the first time in our lives.  It feels like we're so close to completing our family."

"It's a lovely feeling," Miles agreed.  "Hey, look."

He pointed upwards at a shooting star.  "That's our new baby.  Our little shooting star."

"No, that's our baby.  The brightest one in the sky."

Miles planted a kiss on Hailey's cheek and sighed.  "Come on, it's getting cold.  Let's go warm the bed up."

***

Jennifer ran home from her first day of school.  She was so excited!  She couldn't wait to do her homework, and then get started on the extra curricular assignment she'd asked her teacher for.  Jennifer loved school, and she loved homework.  The other kids at school had teased her for it, but she didn't care.  When she was the CEO (her daddy had explained to her what a CEO was, and how they got to sit in a massive office and boss people around) they wouldn't laugh at her any longer!

But when she got into the kitchen, she couldn't help but groan a little bit.  Anastacia has that boy around AGAIN.  He was always here.  Jennifer loved her big sister, but lately she had become so, well... boring.

"So, like, I told my step-dad that being outside for too long exposes you to weird chemicals, and he told me to stop being so stupid, and I told him that, actually, I was predicted straight As at school, and wasn't he, like, born in a barn?  He didn't like that, and he grounded me, but screw him, I can go out if I want to."

"I like going outdoors," Anastacia told him.  "I don't think it exposes you to weird chemicals.  I think it's actually quite good for you."

"Well, it's lucky you've got me as a friend now, Ana.  I'll make sure you don't make silly mistakes like that again."

Jennifer's eyes narrowed.  She really didn't like Locke Diamond very much.  She couldn't understand why Anastacia didn't just tell him to get lost.  That's what Jennifer would do.  Well, she'd tried to tell Locke that, and he'd told her to 'Run along and play with your dollies', like Jennifer was four years old or something.  She was not!  She was six!

She sat down in the corner to do her homework as Anastacia and Locke sat down at the table to do theirs.  She was sure her sister was really smart, but she seemed to ask Locke for help quite a lot.

"Um, Locke, I don't know the answer to this one... do you think... could you help me?" she asked.  Jennifer frowned.  Had her sister just fluttered her eyelashes?!  Locke's chest puffed out.

"Sure I do, Ana.  Say, is that a new necklace?  It suits you."

Jennifer sighed.  Teenagers were so weird.

***

Hailey's third pregnancy was a relaxing experience.  With the newly decorated kitchen finally finished, she was able to potter around their pretty home, occasionally going out to pick her harvested crops, and eat enough for her belly to swell even beyond the expected amount.

She also loved the new ice cream machine that Miles had bought, and found herself drawn to it at all hours of the day, even first thing in the morning.

She also spent a lot of time at the library, liking the relaxed ambience (and secretly enjoying the fact that this place reminded her of the first time she had got together with Miles.)

She didn't know, or think, that she'd ever be pregnant again, and she wanted to enjoy this one while it lasted.  Hailey was very self-conscious of the fact that she had been quite a lot older than Miles when she had first got together with him.  She was well into her adult years now, and she didn't think it would be too long until her elder years came calling.  It was one of the few things in her life that she struggled to deal with, but she didn't ever talk to Miles about it, not wanting to remind him that his wife was going to be old and grey whilst he remained fit and handsome for years to come.

Still, it meant that she was determined to make this period in her life perfect, and she distracted herself, when she wasn't at the library, with decorating the nursery for the new baby's arrival.  She knew that their new arrival was far more fortunate than Ana and Jenny had been.  Money, although not in abundance, had been steadily increasing thanks to Miles' climbing up through the Law Enforcement ranks, and Hailey's gardening produce was always in high demand, even if she didn't have as much time as she'd have liked to make a serious business venture out of it.

She went into labour one late afternoon whilst sitting at the library.  Miles was at home on his day off, doing chin-ups whilst Yumi stood close by, spotting him.

"One hundred and sixty four... sixty five... ugh... sixty six...."

His phone suddenly blared in his pocket.  The hospital calling, telling him that Hailey had just arrived in the labour ward, and was asking for him to be there.  He quickly changed out of his sweaty clothes, the familiar feeling of nerves and excitement building in his stomach.

"Ana, the baby's coming!  Make sure Jenny eats her dinner!" he yelled into the girls' bedroom.  Anastacia, who was trying to recover from staying up the night before to do an intensive work out, rolled over in her bed. 

"Sure, dad," she muttered, not actually hearing him. "No problem."

Miles rushed to get to the hospital in his new patrol car that his last promotion had rewarded him.  He was tempted to stick the sirens on, but wasn't sure this was the kind of emergency the sirens had been designed for, so instead he drove as quickly as he could.

 

He hoped he hadn't missed the birth!  He ran quickly into the lit-up hospital, more than ready for the sleepless nights and ruined shirts that he'd almost forgotten about now Ana and Jenny had put their projectile vomiting days behind them.

 

 Their third baby did turn out to be another little girl, but baby Chloe was so pretty, and so sweet from the off-set, that Hailey realised she really didn't mind.  It was a long labour, and when Hailey arrived home in the early hours of the morning, snuggling her new child close, she felt exhausted.

 

She planted a kiss on Chloe's forehead, breathing in the new baby smell that she had missed so much, and laid her down in her crib.

"Sweet dreams, little one," she whispered.  Chloe blinked up at her, and Hailey could have sworn she saw her dark, piercing eyes wandering around the room, taking in her surroundings.  Hailey kissed her one more time before leaving the nursery, switching off the light as she went.



Notes: I couldn't resist putting that first picture in even though it didn't have much to do with the chapter; there seems to be a unicorn spawner in the family's garden, so they get quite frequent visits from a unicorn, which is awesome as I'd never seen one in the game before.  Well, it was awesome before I realised that unicorns ate crops, meaning Hailey had to start planting all over again (with a fence this time!)  Aside from that, isn't Anastacia pretty?  I was so pleased with the way she turned out!  She actually doesn't turn out to be the prettiest from this generation, though; you'll have to wait to see who that is!  (And no, Hailey and Miles haven't quite done with having kids yet, but the next one comes a little more unconventionally! :D)  Finally, in line with the It's So You roll, the kitchen was finally decorated pink and blue (Miles' favourite colour is blue and Hailey's is obviously pink - so stereotypical!) whilst the nursery is mostly Spicebrown, which is Chloe's favourite colour.  It's fun designing rooms according to favourite colour and interest.  Makes it a lot more focused and easier, and I love how each of the rooms in the house reflect the family's respective personalities.